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Gozo is a nice place to live and if you find a place through an Agent you can be sure its a 'standard contract. Its common practice for the landlord to pay the utilities bills and you reimburse him. That way you both know they have been paid and avoid any misunderstandings.

Good luck with your search.

Prof. Stephen J Newton

Many thanks for the reply.

You should familiarise yourself with the new laws in this regard

There's a lot of, especially Gozo, landlords who try to avoid registering the contract or try to put a flat fee for utilities in the rental price, you should not accept any of this.

Your rental agreement must have standard clauses and the owner must agree that it will be registered with the housing authority and the housing authority will confirm to you that it was done - if not done within 10 days the landlord can be fined.

Your utilities must have "Form H" registered for cheaper residential rates, your landlord must agree this will be done and actually do it, you have the right to contact ARMS and get it done if he doesn't

Also note in the law the maximum amount rent can be raised and notice periods.

Thanks very much for this info.

If the utility bills are in the owners name, what proof of address can be used when opening bank accounts?

In fact it is not only  when opening bank accounts. Most financial institutions periodically ask for proof of address even for accounts that were opened many years ago.

If the utility bills are in the owners name, what proof of address can be used when opening bank accounts?
In fact it is not only when opening bank accounts. Most financial institutions periodically ask for proof of address even for accounts that were opened many years ago. - @Pandorak

Your contract is a proof of address in that case.

Use your lease contract as proof of address.  All new lease contracts must now be notarized.

@Pandorak

Even if you are an EU citizen, you would still need to register for a residents card, which would have your address listed on it. Rather than utility bills, local banks will ask you for this as proof of address as part of their ongoing monitoring due diligence checks.